Methods and systems for making well-fined glass using submerged combustion

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems produce a molten mass of foamed glass in a submerged combustion melter (SCM). Routing foamed glass to a fining chamber defined by a flow channel fluidly connected to and downstream of the SCM. The flow channel floor and sidewalls have sufficient glass-contact refractory to accommodate expansion of the foamed glass as fining occurs during transit through the fining chamber. The foamed glass is separated into an upper glass foam phase and a lower molten glass phase as the foamed glass flows toward an end of the flow channel distal from the SCM. The molten glass is then routed through a transition section fluidly connected to the distal end of the flow channel. The transition section inlet end construction has at least one molten glass inlet aperture, such that the inlet aperture(s) are positioned lower than the phase boundary between the upper and lower phases.

This application may be related to the following United Statesnon-provisional patent applications assigned to the assignee of thepresent application which are all incorporated by reference herein: Ser.No. 12/817754, filed Jun. 17, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,769,992; Ser.Nos. 13/267990, 13/268028, 13/268098, and 13/268130, all four filed Oct.7, 2011 (now U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,987,525, 8,875,544, 8,707,740, and9,021,838, respectively); Ser. No. 13/458211, filed Apr. 27, 2012; Ser.Nos. 13/493170 and 13/493219, both filed Jun. 11, 2012; Ser. No.13/540771, filed Jul. 3, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,032,760; Ser. Nos.13/644058, 13/644104; 13/633979; 13/633998; and 13/644039, all fivefiled Oct. 3, 2012; and Ser. No. 13/752672, filed Jan. 29, 2013.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of submergedcombustion melters and methods of use thereof to produce molten glass,and more specifically to methods and systems for making well-finedmolten glass, and glass products therefrom, using one or more submergedcombustion melters.

BACKGROUND ART

A submerged combustion melter (SCM) may be employed to melt glass batchand/or waste glass materials to produce molten glass by passing oxygen,oxygen-enriched mixtures, or air along with a liquid, gaseous and/orparticulate fuel (some of which may be in the glass-forming materials),directly into a molten pool of glass, usually through burners submergedin a glass melt pool. The introduction of high flow rates of products ofcombustion of the oxidant and fuel into the molten glass, and theexpansion of the gases cause rapid melting of the glass batch and muchturbulence and foaming.

Molten glass produced from an SCM is generally a homogeneous mixture ofmolten glass and fine bubbles. The bubbles may occupy up to 40 percentor more of the volume of molten glass produced with fine bubblesdistributed throughout the molten mass of glass. For glass formingoperations requiring well-fined (essentially void free) molten glass, avery large number of bubbles must be removed from the molten glass. Thetypical procedure for removing the bubbles is to allow a long enoughresidence time in one or more apparatus downstream of the SCM for thebubbles to rise to the surface and burst. Clearing bubbles from themolten glass is referred to as “fining” within the glass industry.Experience with SCMs has shown that the fining process can be very slowdue to the bubbles collecting at the molten glass surface forming alayer of stable foam thereon. Formation of this foam layer in downstreamfining chambers retards the fining mechanism as well as the heatpenetration into the glass from fining chamber heating systems, such ascombustion burners firing above the glass and/or electrical jouleheating below the glass.

Use of skimmers within the foam layer has been used to hold back some ofthe upper foam layers allowing the lower, less foamy layers to passthrough to later sections of channels downstream of the SCM. Theseefforts have been somewhat effective but may require multiple skimmersto obtain a foam free glass layer and surface. In addition, the skimmersare prone to failure during operation making them no longer useful inholding back the upper foam layers and can fall into and partially blockthe channel impeding some or all of the glass flow to downstreamapparatus such as forming stations. It is also conventional to use asubmerged throat positioned between a melter and a downstream channel,or between first and second sections of a melter; however, these throatsare used primarily to serve as a demarcation between an upstream meltingregion and a downstream fining region. In effect, there is no attempt toseparate any bubbles from the molten mass using conventional throats.

At least for these reasons, it would be an advance in the glassmanufacturing art using submerged combustion melters if the foamy upperglass layer or layers, and the glass foam layer floating thereon, couldbe removed or separated from the fined glass without using multipleskimmers, thereby allowing formation of well-fined molten glass, andglass products using the well-fined molten glass.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the present disclosure, systems and methods aredescribed for and/or glass foam produced during submerged combustionmelting of glass-forming materials in equipment downstream of asubmerged combustion melter.

A first aspect of the disclosure is a method comprising:

melting glass-forming materials to produce a turbulent molten mass offoamed glass in a submerged combustion melter (SCM), the SCM comprisinga roof, a floor, a sidewall structure connecting the roof and floor, andan outlet for the molten mass of foamed glass in the floor and/or thesidewall structure;

routing the molten mass of foamed glass through the SCM outlet to afining chamber defined by a first flow channel fluidly connected to anddownstream of the SCM, the first flow channel comprising at least afloor and a sidewall structure, the first flow channel havingglass-contact refractory lining the floor and at least a portion of theflow channel sidewall structure to a height sufficient to accommodateexpansion of the molten mass of foamed glass as fining occurs duringtransit through the fining chamber;

separating the molten mass of foamed glass into an upper phaseconsisting essentially of glass foam and a lower phase consistingessentially of molten glass as the molten mass of foamed glass flowstoward an end of the first flow channel distal from the SCM; and

routing the molten glass through a passage defined by a transitionsection fluidly connected to the distal end of the first flow channel,the transition section comprising a floor and a cover, the floor andcover connected by a sidewall structure, and comprising an inlet endstructure and an outlet end structure, the inlet end structurecomprising at least one molten glass inlet aperture and the outlet endstructure comprising at least one molten glass outlet aperture, whereinall of the inlet apertures are positioned lower than a phase boundarybetween the upper and lower phases in the first flow channel.

A second aspect of the disclosure is a method comprising:

melting glass-forming materials to produce a turbulent molten mass offoamed glass in a submerged combustion melter (SCM), the SCM comprisinga roof, a floor, a sidewall structure connecting the roof and floor, andan outlet for the molten mass of foamed glass in the floor and/orsidewall structure;

routing the molten mass of foamed glass through the SCM outlet to afining chamber defined by a first flow channel fluidly connected to anddownstream of the SCM, the first flow channel comprising at least afloor and a sidewall structure, the first flow channel havingglass-contact refractory lining the floor and at least a portion of thefirst flow channel sidewall structure to a height sufficient toaccommodate expansion of the molten mass of foamed glass as finingoccurs during transit through the fining chamber;

separating the molten mass of foamed glass into an upper phaseconsisting essentially of glass foam and a lower phase consistingessentially of molten glass as the molten mass of foamed glass flowstoward an end of the first flow channel distal from the SCM;

routing the molten glass through a passage defined by a transitionsection fluidly connected to the distal end of the first flow channel,the transition section comprising a floor and a cover, the floor andcover connected by a sidewall structure, and comprising an inlet endwall and an outlet end wall, the inlet end wall comprising at least onemolten glass inlet aperture and the outlet end wall comprising at leastone molten glass outlet aperture, wherein 100 percent of the inletaperture is lower than the floor of the first flow channel; and

routing the phase consisting essentially of molten glass through theoutlet aperture of the end wall of the transition section to atemperature homogenizing chamber defined by a second flow channelfluidly connected to the outlet end wall of the transition section, thesecond flow channel comprising a geometry sufficient to form atemperature homogenized, well-fined molten glass.

A third aspect of the disclosure is a system comprising:

a submerged combustion melter (SCM) configured to form a turbulentmolten mass of foamed glass by melting glass-forming materials therein,the SCM comprising a roof, a floor, a sidewall structure connecting theroof and floor, and a foamed glass outlet in the floor and/or thesidewall structure;

a first flow channel defining a fining chamber fluidly connected to anddownstream of the SCM, the first flow channel comprising at least afloor and a sidewall structure, the first flow channel comprisingglass-contact refractory at least lining the floor and at least aportion of the first flow channel sidewall structure to a heightsufficient to accommodate expansion of the molten mass of foamed glassas fining occurs during transit of the molten mass of foamed glassthrough the fining chamber, the fining separating the molten mass offoamed glass into an upper phase consisting essentially of glass foamand a lower phase consisting essentially of molten glass as the moltenmass of foamed glass flows toward an end of the first flow channeldistal from the SCM; and

a transition section defining a passage fluidly connected to the distalend of the first flow channel, the transition section comprising a floorand a cover, the floor and cover connected by a sidewall structure, andcomprising an inlet end structure and an outlet end structure, the inletend structure comprising at least one molten glass inlet aperture andthe outlet end structure comprising at least one molten glass outletaperture, wherein all of the inlet apertures are positioned lower than aphase boundary between the upper and lower phases in the first flowchannel.

A fourth aspect of the disclosure is a system comprising:

a submerged combustion melter (SCM) configured to form a turbulentmolten mass of foamed glass by melting glass-forming materials therein,the SCM comprising a roof, a floor, a sidewall structure connecting theroof and floor, and a foamed glass outlet in the floor and/or thesidewall structure;

a first flow channel defining a fining chamber fluidly connected to anddownstream of the SCM, the first flow channel comprising at least afloor and a sidewall structure, the first flow channel comprisingglass-contact refractory at least lining the floor and at least aportion of the first flow channel sidewall structure to a heightsufficient to accommodate expansion of the molten mass of foamed glassas fining occurs during transit of the molten mass of foamed glassthrough the fining chamber, the fining separating the molten mass offoamed glass into an upper phase consisting essentially of glass foamand a lower phase consisting essentially of molten glass as the moltenmass of foamed glass flows toward an end of the first flow channeldistal from the SCM;

a transition section defining a passage fluidly connected to the distalend of the first flow channel, the transition section comprising a floorand a cover, the floor and cover connected by a sidewall structure, andcomprising an inlet end wall and an outlet end wall, the inlet end wallcomprising at least one molten glass inlet aperture and the outlet endwall comprising at least one molten glass outlet aperture, wherein 100percent of the inlet aperture is lower than the floor of the first flowchannel; and

a second flow channel fluidly connected to the outlet end wall of thetransition section and defining a temperature homogenizing chambercomprising a geometry sufficient to form a temperature homogenizedwell-fined molten glass using the phase consisting essentially of moltenglass.

Systems and methods of this disclosure will become more apparent uponreview of the brief description of the drawings, the detaileddescription of the disclosure, and the claims that follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The manner in which the objectives of the disclosure and other desirablecharacteristics can be obtained is explained in the followingdescription and attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevation view, partially in cross-section,of one non-limiting system embodiment in accordance with the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a portion of the systemembodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side elevation view, partially in cross-section,of a portion of another system embodiment in accordance with the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the portion of the systemembodiment of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic perspective views of two alternativeembodiments of transition sections in accordance with the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the transition sectionschematically illustrated in FIG. 5, and FIG. 5B is a more detailed viewof the inlet end of the transition section of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a portion of anothersystem embodiment in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a portion of another system embodiment inaccordance with the present disclosure; and

FIGS. 9 and 10 are logic diagrams of two methods in accordance with thepresent disclosure.

It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings of FIGS. 1-8 maynot be to scale and illustrate only typical embodiments of thisdisclosure, and are therefore not to be considered limiting of itsscope, for the disclosure may admit to other equally effectiveembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous details are set forth to providean understanding of the disclosed systems and methods. However, it willbe understood by those skilled in the art that the systems and methodscovered by the claims may be practiced without these details and thatnumerous variations or modifications from the specifically describedembodiments may be possible and are deemed within the claims. All U.S.published patent applications and U.S. Patents referenced herein arehereby explicitly incorporated herein by reference. In the eventdefinitions of terms in the referenced patents and applications conflictwith how those terms are defined in the present application, thedefinitions for those terms that are provided in the present applicationshall be deemed controlling.

As explained briefly in the Background, bubbles may occupy up to 40percent or more of the volume of the turbulent molten glass produced byan SCM, with fine bubbles distributed throughout the molten mass ofglass. For glass forming operations requiring well-fined (essentiallyvoid free) molten glass, a very large number of bubbles must be removedfrom the molten glass. Experience with SCMs has shown that the finingprocess can be very slow due to the bubbles collecting at the moltenglass surface forming a layer of stable foam thereon. Formation of thisfoam layer in downstream fining chambers retards the fining mechanism aswell as the heat penetration into the glass from fining chamber heatingsystems, such as combustion burners firing above the glass and/orelectrical joule heating below the glass. Use of skimmers within thefoam layer to hold back some of the upper foam layers allowing thelower, less foamy layers to pass through to later sections of channelsdownstream of the SCM has been somewhat successful but suffers fromseveral drawbacks.

It has been discovered that the use of a specially designed transitionsection in combination with a specially constructed fining chamberbetween the SCM and the transition section may fully accomplishseparating fined glass from the foamy glass and/or glass foam floatingthereon in a simple, effective way. The transition section may befluidly connected to a second flow channel downstream of the transitionsection, the second flow channel defining a temperature conditioning orhomogenization chamber for forming a well-fined, temperature homogenizedmolten glass. The transition section additionally is less likely to failthan a skimmer since it may have a robust construction and may beengineered for longevity in operation.

In accordance with methods and systems of the present disclosure, moltenfoamed glass leaving the SCM is routed to a refractory orrefractory-lined flow channel of sufficient designed length and havingsufficiently high glass contact refractory walls to accommodate thevolume expansion that occurs during initial fining as the molten massmoves away from the SCM. The “high sidewalls” constructed ofglass-contact refractory in the flow channel accommodate the glass foamsurface rise resulting from the bubbles within the molten foamed glassrising to the surface creating the fined, essentially void-free glass inthe lower layers. The length of the refractory or refractory-lined flowchannel is such that a boundary layer is able to develop between thetop-most foamy glass layers and the lower, essentially molten glasslayers, as discussed herein.

Methods and systems of the present disclosure further include arefractory or precious metal-lined transition section fluidly connectedto the distal end of the refractory or refractory-lined flow channel. Incertain embodiments, at least 75 percent, in certain embodiments atleast 90 percent, and in yet other embodiments 100 percent of the inletto the transition section is positioned below a phase boundary betweenan upper phase consisting essentially of glass foam, and a lower phaseconsisting essentially of well-fined molten glass. In certainembodiments 100 percent of the inlet to the transition section ispositioned relative to the refractory or refractory-lined flow channelso that only the lower, well-fined molten glass formed in the flowchannel passes into and through the transition section, and further intoone or more downstream temperature conditioning (sometimes referred toas a temperature homogenizing) flow channels. In certain embodiments thecover of the transition section (or the portion contacting molten glass)may be comprised of glass corrosion resistant material. In certainembodiments, the height of a roof of the refractory or refractory-linedflow channel is higher above the roof of the transition section comparedto the height of the roof of the downstream temperature conditioningchannel above the roof of the transition section, allowing a thick layerif foam to build up ahead of the transition section, and possibly bereduced or destroyed by impingement burners or other techniques, such aswater spray, dripping water, and the like. In certain embodiments, theroof of the refractory or refractory-lined flow channel may slantupwards in the flow direction at an angle to horizontal, allowingentrapped bubbles to move upward and out of the molten glass streamflowing therein. In certain other embodiments, the roof of thetransition section may slope upward in similar fashion.

The length, width, height, and depth dimensions of the passage definedby the transition section may vary widely, and may be designed tocontrol glass temperature conditioning to help cool or heat the moltenglass to close to the forming temperature, providing an additionaltemperature control of the glass delivery process. The width and depthmay be constant or variable from the inlet end to the outlet end of thetransition section.

In certain embodiments, the transition section outlet end structure maybe configured so that the molten glass is allowed to well up into one ormore downstream temperature conditioning channels, and further on to oneor more glass forming stations or processes.

In certain embodiments the transition section may comprise one or moredrains allowing removal of molten glass from the transition section,particularly in those embodiments where the transition section floor ispositioned below the floor of structures upstream and downstream of thetransition section.

In certain embodiments the transition section may include one or moreJoule heating elements to maintain the molten glass in the liquid,molten state during times of low or no flow through the passage throughthe transition section, adding robustness to the methods and systems ofthe present disclosure to many planned and unplanned process conditions.

Various terms are used throughout this disclosure. “Submerged” as usedherein means that combustion gases emanate from a combustion burner exitthat is under the level of the molten glass, and “non-submerged” meansthat combustion gases do not emanate from combustion burner exits underthe level of molten glass, whether in the SCM or downstream apparatus.Both submerged and non-submerged burners may be roof-mounted,floor-mounted, wall-mounted, or any combination thereof (for example,two floor mounted burners and one wall mounted burner). “SC” as usedherein means “submerged combustion” unless otherwise specifically noted,and “SCM” means submerged combustion melter unless otherwisespecifically noted.

The terms “foam” and “foamy” include froths, spume, suds, heads, fluffs,fizzes, lathers, effervesces, layer and the like. The term “bubble”means a thin, shaped, gas-filled film of molten glass. The shape may bespherical, hemispherical, rectangular, polyhedral, ovoid, and the like.The gas or “bubble atmosphere” in the gas-filled SC bubbles may compriseoxygen or other oxidants, nitrogen, combustion products (including butnot limited to, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, NO_(N), SO_(x), H₂S,and water), reaction products of glass-forming ingredients (for example,but not limited to, sand (primarily SiO₂), clay, limestone (primarilyCaCO₃), burnt dolomitic lime, borax and boric acid, and the like.Bubbles may include solids particles, for example soot particles, eitherin the film, the gas inside the film, or both. The term “glass foam”means foam where the liquid film comprises molten glass. “Glass level”means the distance measured from the bottom of a downstream apparatus tothe upper liquid level of the molten glass, and “foam level” means thedistance measured from the top of the atmosphere above the foam layer tothe upper surface of the foam layer. “Foam height” (equivalent to foamthickness) is the distance measured between the glass level and foamlevel.

As used herein the term “combustion” means deflagration-type combustionunless other types of combustion are specifically noted, such asdetonation-type combustion. Deflagration is sub-sonic combustion thatusually propagates through thermal conductivity; hot burning materialheats the next layer of cold material and ignites it. Detonation issupersonic and primarily propagates through shock. As used herein theterms “combustion gases” and “combustion products” means substantiallygaseous mixtures of combusted fuel, any excess oxidant, and combustionproducts, such as oxides of carbon (such as carbon monoxide, carbondioxide), oxides of nitrogen, oxides of sulfur, and water, whether fromdeflagration, detonation, or combination thereof. Combustion productsmay include liquids and solids, for example soot and unburned ornon-combusted fuels.

“Oxidant” as used herein includes air and gases having the same molarconcentrations of oxygen and nitrogen as air (synthetic air),oxygen-enriched air (air having oxygen concentration greater than 21mole percent), and “pure” oxygen, such as industrial grade oxygen, foodgrade oxygen, and cryogenic oxygen. Oxygen-enriched air may have 50 molepercent or more oxygen, and in certain embodiments may be 90 molepercent or more oxygen.

The term “fuel”, according to this disclosure, means a combustiblecomposition comprising a major portion of, for example, methane, naturalgas, liquefied natural gas, propane, hydrogen, steam-reformed naturalgas, atomized hydrocarbon oil, combustible powders and other flowablesolids (for example coal powders, carbon black, soot, and the like), andthe like. Fuels useful in the disclosure may comprise minor amounts ofnon-fuels therein, including oxidants, for purposes such as premixingthe fuel with the oxidant, or atomizing liquid or particulate fuels. Asused herein the term “fuel” includes gaseous fuels, liquid fuels,flowable solids, such as powdered carbon or particulate material, wastematerials, slurries, and mixtures or other combinations thereof.

The sources of oxidant and fuel may be one or more conduits, pipelines,storage facility, cylinders; or, in embodiments where the oxidant isair, ambient air. Oxygen-enriched oxidants may be supplied from apipeline, cylinder, storage facility, cryogenic air separation unit,membrane permeation separator, or adsorption unit such as a vacuum swingadsorption unit.

The term “flow channel” means a container, channel or conduit defined atleast by a floor and a wall structure extending upwards from the floorto form a space in which molten glass may be present, whether flowing ornot. In certain embodiments flow channels may include a roof and a wallstructure connecting the floor and roof. The flow channels may have anyoperable cross-sectional shape (for example, but not limited to,rectangular, oval, circular, trapezoidal, hexagonal, and the like) andany flow path shape (for example, but not limited to, straight, zigzag,curved, and combinations thereof). Certain systems and methods comprisea first flow channel defining a fining chamber, and a second flowchannel defining a conditioning channel. The phrase “the second flowchannel comprising a geometry sufficient to form a temperaturehomogenized, well-fined molten glass” means that the second flow channelhas length, width, and depth dimensions sufficient to provide theresidence time adequate to form temperature homogenized, well-finedmolten glass. The dimensions may be constant or changing from inlet tooutlet of the second flow channel; generally, the depth is not so greatas to require agitation of the melt to achieve temperaturehomogenization, although some agitation may be desired in certainembodiments. The length may also depend on the Reynolds number of themolten glass exiting the transition section. Higher Reynolds numbers mayrequire longer second flow channels to achieve the desired temperaturehomogenization. As used herein the term “well-fined” means that incertain embodiments the molten glass has less than 15 bubbles per cm³,or in some embodiments less than 2 bubbles per cm³, or has a densitywithin 95 percent of the density of the glass being produced with nobubbles, or in certain embodiments has a density within 99 percent ofthe density of the glass being produced with no bubbles.

SCMs, flow channels, transition sections and associated structures, aswell as conduits used in burners and devices for delivery ofcompositions useful in systems and methods of the present disclosure maybe comprised of metal, ceramic, ceramic-lined metal, or combinationthereof. Suitable metals include stainless steels, for example, but notlimited to, 306 and 316 steel, as well as titanium alloys, aluminumalloys, and the like. Suitable materials and thickness for theglass-contact refractory are discussed herein below. In any particularsystem and method, the flow channel geometry, transition sectiongeometry, and associated structural features may be influenced by thetype of glass being produced and degree of foaming.

Certain submerged and non-submerged combustion burners, certaincomponents in and/or protruding through one or more of the floor, roof,and sidewall structure configured to heat or maintaining temperature ofthe foamed glass, in the SCM or otherwise, may be fluid-cooled, and inthe case of burners may include first and second (or more) concentricconduits. In the case of burners, the first conduit may be fluidlyconnected at one end to a source of fuel, the second conduit may befluidly connected to a source of oxidant, and a third substantiallyconcentric conduit may connect to a source of cooling fluid.

Certain systems of this disclosure may comprise one or morenon-submerged burners. Suitable non-submerged combustion burners maycomprise a fuel inlet conduit having an exit nozzle, the conduit andnozzle inserted into a cavity of a ceramic burner block, the ceramicburner block in turn inserted into either the roof or the wallstructure, or both the roof and wall structure of the downstreamapparatus.

In certain systems, one or more burners may be adjustable with respectto direction of flow of the combustion products. Adjustment may be viaautomatic, semi-automatic, or manual control. Certain system embodimentsmay comprise a burner mount that mounts the burner in the wallstructure, roof, or floor of the downstream apparatus comprising arefractory or refractory-lined ball joint or ball turret. Other burnermounts may comprise rails mounted in slots in the wall or roof. In yetother embodiments the burners may be mounted outside of the downstreamapparatus, on supports that allow adjustment of the combustion productsflow direction. Useable supports include those comprising ball joints,cradles, rails, and the like.

In certain systems and methods of the present disclosure, the flowchannel may comprising a series of sections, and may comprise one ormore impingement (high momentum) burners, such as described inassignee's U.S. application Ser. Nos. 13/268,130, filed Oct. 7, 2011,(now U.S. Pat. No. 9,021,838), and Ser. No. 13/493,170, filed Jun. 11,2012(now U.S. Pat. No. 8,707,739). Certain systems and methods of thepresent disclosure may utilize measurement and control schemes such asdescribed in assignee's co-pending application Ser. No. 13/493,219,filed Jun. 11, 2012, and/or feed batch densification systems and methodsas described in assignee's co-pending application Ser. No. 13/540,704,filed Jul. 3, 2012. Certain systems and methods of the presentdisclosure may utilize one or more retractable devices for delivery oftreating compositions such as disclosed in assignee's application Ser.No. 13/633,998, filed Oct. 3, 2012(now U.S. Pat. No. 8,973,405). Certainsystems and methods of the present disclosure may utilize one or morenozzles for delivery of treating compositions such as disclosed inassignee's co-pending application Ser. No. 13/644058, filed Oct. 3,2012, and/or may utilize one or more foam destruction devices asdescribed in assignee's co-pending application Ser. No. 13/644104, filedOct. 3, 2012.

Certain systems and methods of this disclosure may be controlled by oneor more controllers. For example, determination of molten foamed glassdensity gradient may be used to control one or more burners in thedownstream apparatus and/or melter, level in a melter, feed rate to amelter, discharge rate of molten foamed glass from a melter, and otherparameters. Burner (flame) temperature may be controlled by monitoringone or more parameters selected from velocity of the fuel, velocity ofthe primary oxidant, mass and/or volume flow rate of the fuel, massand/or volume flow rate of the primary oxidant, energy content of thefuel, temperature of the fuel as it enters the burner, temperature ofthe primary oxidant as it enters the burner, temperature of theeffluent, pressure of the primary oxidant entering the burner, humidityof the oxidant, burner geometry, combustion ratio, and combinationsthereof. Certain systems and methods of this disclosure may also usedetermined density gradient of molten foamed glass in the downstreamapparatus to control feed rate of batch or other feed materials, such asglass batch, cullet, mat or wound roving and treatment compositions, toa melter; mass of feed to a melter, and the like. Exemplary systems andmethods of the disclosure may comprise a controller which receives oneor more input parameters selected from temperature of melt in a melter,density gradient in the downstream apparatus, composition of bubblesand/or foam, height of foam layer, glass level, foam level, andcombinations thereof, and may employ a control algorithm to controlcombustion temperature, flow rate and/or composition of compositions tocontrol foam decay rate and/or glass foam bubble size, and other outputparameters based on one or more of these input parameters.

Specific non-limiting system and method embodiments in accordance withthe present disclosure will now be presented in conjunction with theattached drawing figures. The same numerals are used for the same orsimilar features in the various figures. In the views illustrated in thedrawing figures, it will be understood in the case of FIGS. 1-8 that thefigures are schematic in nature, and certain conventional features maynot be illustrated in all embodiments in order to illustrate moreclearly the key features of each embodiment. The geometry of the flowchannels is illustrated generally the same in the various embodiments,but that of course is not necessary.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevation view, partially in cross-section,of one non-limiting system embodiment 100 in accordance with the presentdisclosure, and FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a portion ofsystem embodiment 100 of FIG. 1. The primary components of systemembodiment 100 are an SCM 2, a first flow channel 30, a transitionsection 40, a second flow channel 50, and a glass delivery channel 60.SCM 2 includes a floor 4, a roof 6, and a sidewall structure 8connecting floor 4 and roof 6. A first portion of sidewall structure 8and roof 6 define a space 9 containing a turbulent molten mass of foamedglass 22 having a plurality of entrained bubbles 21, and a generallyturbulent surface 20 created by flow of combustion products emanatingfrom one or more submerged burners 16 a, 16 b, protruding throughrespective apertures 14 a, 14 b in SCM floor 4. Burners 16 a, 16 b maybe sourced by oxidant “O” and fuel “F” as indicated in FIG. 1,controlled by one or more control valves “CV”, all of which are notpointed out for sake of brevity. The curved arrows indicate generalmotion of molten glass in SCM 2. SCM 2 may further include a batchfeeder 12 for feeding batch materials 18 through one or more feedapertures in SCM sidewall structure 8 (batch may also, or alternativelybe fed through roof 6.) Other materials may be fed to SCM 2, as long asthere is a significant portion of glass-forming materials or recycledglass. SCM 2 further includes one or more molten glass outlets 24,embodiment 100 illustrated as having outlet 24 in sidewall structure 8,but this is not necessary. SCM 2 further includes a stack 10.

Still referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 as well, system embodiment 100includes a first flow channel 30 fluidly connected to SCM 2. First flowchannel 30 includes at least a floor 34 and a sidewall structure 38, andin embodiment 100 a roof 36 connected by sidewall structure 38 to flowchannel floor 34. Roof 36 may not be present in all embodiments. Firstflow channel 30 defines a fining chamber 32 having a length configuredso that as the mass of molten foamed glass 22 passes through SCM outlet24 and traverses through fining chamber 32, the mass of molten foamyglass tends to separate into an upper phase 35 consisting essentially ofglass foam, and a lower phase 37 consisting essentially of molten glass,and form a boundary 39 between upper phase 35 and lower phase 37.Because of the formation of upper foamy phase 35, first flow channel 30in certain embodiments includes a higher than normal height “H” ofglass-contact refractory 31, which may also be thicker than normal, sayup to 3 inches (7.6 cm) or more thick, depending on the refractorycorrosion rate, which depends largely on the glass composition beingprocessed and temperatures.

Referring again to FIG. 1, transition section 40 of embodiment 100includes a transition section floor 44, a roof or cover 46, an inlet endstructure 48, and an outlet end structure 49, all defining a passage 42through transition structure 40 for molten glass 45. As may be seen inthe schematic of FIG. 1, molten glass in lower phase 37 is allowed toflow into transition section 40, through passage 42, but glass foam inupper phase 35 above boundary 39 is not. Inlet end structure 48 mayinclude one or more apertures 41, and outlet end structure 49 mayinclude one or more outlet apertures 43. In embodiment 100, inlet endstructure 48 includes one slot aperture 41 and outlet end structure 49includes one slot aperture 43. The shape of apertures 41, 43 are notespecially important, although in certain embodiments they may have moreadvantageous configurations, as discussed further herein, however theirposition is critical. In embodiment 100, the entirety (100 percent) ofinlet aperture or slot 41 is below boundary 39 between upper glass foamphase 35 and lower molten glass phase 37. As mentioned earlier, incertain embodiments it is not necessary that 100 percent of inletaperture 41 be below boundary 39. Curved arrows indicate the generalflow pattern of molten glass 45 through transition section 40. Glassfoam in upper phase 35 is held back. Another important feature oftransition section 40 is provision of a high temperature,corrosion-resistant, erosion-resistant lining 53; while not absolutelynecessary, most embodiments of transition section 40 will comprise sucha lining on at least some of the surfaces exposed to molten glass forsystem longevity. For example, certain embodiments may only have thislining on upper inside surfaces of the transition section, where thewear rate maybe the highest. High temperature materials for lining 53may be platinum group metals or alloys thereof, such as platinum,rhodium, or platinum/rhodium alloy. Molybdenum and alloys thereof withother metals may also be used, as long as they meet temperaturerequirements.

Still referring to FIG. 1 and also FIG. 2, outlet end structure 49 oftransition section 40 is fluidly connected to a second refractory orrefractory-lined flow channel 50 having a floor 54, a roof 56, and asidewall structure 58 including an outlet end aperture 59 through whichmolten glass 55 flows to a glass delivery channel 60. It is notnecessary that second flow channel 50 have a lining of glass-contactrefractory, but in order to increase run time of the system, suchconstruction may be present in certain embodiments. Second flow channel50 has a length sufficient to define a temperature conditioning orhomogenizing chamber 52, in which molten glass 45 entering chamber 52 isconditioned into a molten glass of consistent temperature, 55, fordownstream glass delivery channel 60 and further downstream glassforming operations.

FIG. 2 illustrates schematically certain optional features of systemswithin this disclosure, for example, provision of one or more electricalJoule heating elements 47, one or more cooling fluid source and returnconduits, 62, 63 respectively, one or more controllable drain conduits57 for transition section 40, and one or more apertures 80 in roof 36 offirst flow channel 30 for various functions. One example may beprovision of a vent 82, or a burner for directing foam away fromtransition section 40. Both high- and low-momentum burners have beendescribed in other patent applications assigned to the assignee of thepresent application, and are further mentioned herein. FIG. 2 alsoillustrates that in embodiment 100, first flow channel roof 36 has aheight h₁ above the cover 46 of transition section 40, and second flowchannel roof 56 has a height h₂ above cover 46 of transition section 40,wherein h₁>h₂, allowing for a thick layer of foam to build up in firstflow channel 30. The height h₁ may be 1.2, or 1.5, or 2.0, or 3.0 timesthe height h₂, or more.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate schematically system embodiment 200. Embodiment200 differs from embodiment 100 primarily in the configuration oftransition section 40. Transition section 40 in embodiment 200 also hasa floor 44, roof or cover 46, inlet end structure 48 and outlet endstructure 49, however in embodiment 200, roof or cover 46 and inlet endstructure 48 are configured so that all of inlet aperture 41 iscompletely below floor 34 of first flow channel 30. Inlet end structure48 further includes a top section 64, and a frontal section 65, whichtogether with sidewalls 66 (only one being visible in FIG. 4) and floor44 form a portion of flow passage 42 in this embodiment. Frontal section65 is not illustrated in FIG. 4 for clarity. Similarly, a front end wall57 of second flow channel 50 and a rearward section 69, along with floor44 and sidewalls 66 form the exit end structure 49 in this embodiment.Corrosion-resistant, erosion-resistant lining 53 is also present andviewable in FIG. 3. Lining 53 in the various embodiments disclosedherein and like embodiments may have a thickness so as to provide a longrun time for the systems of the disclosure. The thickness would not bemore than necessary, but is technically limited only by the desireddimensions of the flow path of molten glass and footprint of thetransition section. Lining 53 may in some embodiments be 0.5 inch (1.25cm) thick or more if cost were no impediment, but typically may rangefrom about 0.02 to about 0.1 inch (about 0.05 cm to about 0.25 cm). FIG.4 also illustrates schematically one possible position of glass-contactrefractory 31, viewable through a cutout portion 70. Glass-contactrefractory 31 has a height “H”, which would not be higher thannecessary, and is dependent upon many factors, including the type(composition) of glass being processed. The height “H” may in fact bethe entire height of the sidewall of first flow section 30. Also asviewable through cutouts 67 and 68, molten glass 45 flows though secondflow channel 50, eventually forming temperature-conditioned molten glass55 before being discharged into glass delivery channel 60.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic perspective views of two alternativeembodiments of transition sections in accordance with the presentdisclosure. Embodiment 300 includes a pair of generally vertical oval oroblong-shaped inlet apertures 72, 74 in an inlet wall 27, and agenerally horizontal oval or oblong-shaped outlet aperture 43 in anoutlet wall 29. FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of transition sectionembodiment 300 schematically illustrated in FIG. 5, illustratingschematically precious metal lining 53, and FIG. 5B is a more detailedview of the inlet end of transition section embodiment 300, illustratingposition of precious metal lining 53 in apertures 72, 74. In embodiment400, illustrated schematically in FIG. 6, inlet aperture 76 is agenerally oval or oblong-shaped opening in inlet wall 27, as is outletend aperture 43 in outlet wall 29.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a portion of anothersystem embodiment 500 in accordance with the present disclosure.Embodiment 500 emphasizes that certain embodiments may include shaped,streamlined inlet and outlet end structures 48, 49. In embodiment 500,inlet end structure 48 includes a bottom that may be angled at an angle“α” to horizontal, while outlet end structure 49 includes a bottomportion that may be angled at an angle “β” to horizontal. Angles “α” and“β” may independently range from about 15 to about 90 degrees, or fromabout 25 to about 75 degrees, or from about 35 to about 55 degrees.These angles may also allow streamlining of the precious metal lining53, as indicated at 53A, 53B, 53C, and 53D, and therefore the flow ofmolten glass 45. 29. Embodiment 500 also illustrates that first flowchannel roof 36 may slant upward in the flow direction at an angle “γ”to horizontal, and that transition section cover 46 may slant upward inthe flow direction at an angle “θ” to horizontal. Angles “γ” and “θ” maybe the same or different, and each may independently range from about 5to about 60 degrees, or from about 15 to about 55 degrees, or from about35 to about 55 degrees.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a portion of another system embodiment 600 inaccordance with the present disclosure, emphasizing that first flowchannel 30 may actually be comprised of one or more flow channels, forexample sub-channels 30A, 30B as illustrated. Similarly, transitionsection 40 may be comprised of one or more transition sub-sections, forexample a first widening sub-section 40A, fluidly connected to asub-section 40B of constant width, which in turn is fluidly connected toa narrowing width sub-section 40C. The various sub-sections 40A, 40B,and 40C may have respective covers 46A, 46B, and 46C. It should be notedthat, although not illustrated, the various sub-sections 40A, 40B, and40C need not have the same depth.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are logic diagrams of two methods in accordance with thepresent disclosure. Method embodiment 700 comprises meltingglass-forming materials to produce a turbulent molten mass of foamedglass in an SCM, the SCM comprising a roof, a floor, a sidewallstructure connecting the roof and floor, and an outlet for the moltenmass of foamed glass in the floor and/or the sidewall structure (box702). Method embodiment 700 further comprises routing the molten mass offoamed glass through the SCM outlet to a fining chamber defined by afirst flow channel fluidly connected to and downstream of the SCM, thefirst flow channel comprising at least a floor and a sidewall structure,the first flow channel having glass-contact refractory lining the floorand at least a portion of the flow channel sidewall structure to aheight sufficient to accommodate expansion of the molten mass of foamedglass as fining occurs during transit through the fining chamber (box704). Method embodiment 700 further comprises separating the molten massof foamed glass into an upper phase consisting essentially of glass foamand a lower phase consisting essentially of molten glass as the moltenmass of foamed glass flows toward an end of the first flow channeldistal from the SCM (box 706). Method embodiment 700 further comprisesrouting the molten glass through a passage defined by a transitionsection fluidly connected to the distal end of the first flow channel,the transition section comprising a floor and a cover, the floor andcover connected by a sidewall structure, and comprising an inlet endstructure and an outlet end structure, the inlet end structurecomprising at least one molten glass inlet aperture and the outlet endstructure comprising at least one molten glass outlet aperture, whereinall of the inlet apertures are positioned lower than a phase boundarybetween the upper and lower phases in the first flow channel (box 708).

Method embodiment 800 comprises melting glass-forming materials toproduce a turbulent molten mass of foamed glass in an SCM, the SCMcomprising a roof, a floor, a sidewall structure connecting the roof andfloor, and an outlet for the molten mass of foamed glass in the floorand/or sidewall structure (box 802). Method embodiment 800 furthercomprises routing the molten mass of foamed glass through the SCM outletto a fining chamber defined by a first flow channel fluidly connected toand downstream of the SCM, the first flow channel comprising at least afloor and a sidewall structure, the first flow channel havingglass-contact refractory lining the floor and at least a portion of thefirst flow channel sidewall structure to a height sufficient toaccommodate expansion of the molten mass of foamed glass as finingoccurs during transit through the fining chamber (box 804). Methodembodiment 800 further comprises separating the molten mass of foamedglass into an upper phase consisting essentially of glass foam and alower phase consisting essentially of molten glass as the molten mass offoamed glass flows toward an end of the first flow channel distal fromthe SCM (box 806). Method embodiment 800 further comprises routing themolten glass through a passage defined by a transition section fluidlyconnected to the distal end of the first flow channel, the transitionsection comprising a floor and a cover, the floor and cover connected bya sidewall structure, and comprising an inlet end wall and an outlet endwall, the inlet end wall comprising at least one molten glass inletaperture and the outlet end wall comprising at least one molten glassoutlet aperture, wherein 100 percent of the inlet aperture is lower thanthe floor of the first flow channel (box 808). Method embodiment 800further comprises routing the phase consisting essentially of moltenglass through the outlet aperture of the end wall of the transitionsection to a temperature homogenizing chamber defined by a second flowchannel fluidly connected to the outlet end wall of the transitionsection, and forming a temperature homogenized molten glass (box 810).

In certain embodiments, as will be understood, the shape of the roof orcover, floor, and sidewall structure of various components describedherein, as well as the location of the level or height of molten foamedor unfoamed glass, the amount of entrained bubbles, and amount ofbubbles in foam layers, size of first and second flow channels andtransition sections may vary widely.

In certain embodiments one or more SC burners may be oxy/fuel burnerscombusting fuel “F” with an oxygen-enriched oxidant “O”. Turbulencecreated by SC burners in molten foamed glass 22 is indicatedschematically in FIG. 1 by curved flow lines, single-headed arrows, androlling surface 20. The exits of SC burners 16 may be flush with SCMfloor 4, or may protrude slightly into SCM 2. SC burners 16 a, 16 b mayhave one or more companion burners spaced transversely therefrom (notshown). SC burners may be placed randomly or non-randomly to protrudethrough floor 4 and/or sidewall structure 8. SCM 2 may receive numerousfeeds through one or more inlet ports, and batch feeders maybe provided.Other feeds are possible, such as glass mat waste, wound roving, wastematerials, and the like, such as disclosed in assignee's U.S.application Ser. No. 12/888,970, filed Sep. 23, 2010(now U.S. Pat. No.8,650,914). Oxidant, fuels, and other fluids may be supplied from one ormore supply tanks or containers which are fluidly and mechanicallyconnected to the SCM or flow channels or transition section via one ormore conduits, which may or may not include flow control valves. One ormore of the conduits may be flexible metal hoses, but they may also besolid metal, ceramic, or ceramic-lined metal conduits. Any or all of theconduits may include a flow control valve, which may be adjusted to shutoff flow through a particular conduit. Those of skill in this art willreadily understand the need for, and be able to construct suitable fuelsupply conduits and oxidant supply conduits, as well as respective flowcontrol valves, threaded fittings, quick connect/disconnect fittings,hose fittings, and the like.

In systems and methods employing glass batch as feed, such as embodiment100 of FIGS. 1 and 2, one or more hoppers 12 containing one or moreparticles or particulate matter 18 may be provided. One or more hoppersmay route particles through the SCM roof, through an SCM sidewall, orthrough both, through various apertures. While it is contemplated thatparticulate will flow merely by gravity from the hoppers, and thehoppers need not have a pressure above the solids level, certainembodiments may include a pressurized headspace above the solids in thehoppers. In embodiments, the teachings of assignee's co-pendingapplication Ser. No. 13/540704, filed Jul. 3, 2012, describing variousscrew-feeder embodiments, and teaching of feed material compaction maybe useful. One or more of the hoppers may include shakers or otherapparatus common in industry to dislodge overly compacted solids andkeep the particles flowing. Furthermore, each hopper will have a valveother apparatus to stop or adjust flow of particulate matter into thedownstream apparatus. These details are not illustrated for sake ofbrevity.

Certain systems and methods of the present disclosure may be combinedwith strategies for foam de-stabilization. For example, adding nitrogenas a treating composition to the molten mass of glass and bubbles in thefirst flow channel 30 may tend to make bubbles in upper glass foam phase35 less stable when there is the presence of a high moisture atmospherein the first flow channel. A high moisture atmosphere may exist forexample when one or more high momentum burners (whether oxy/fuel or not)are used as impingement burners in the first flow channel to impinge onupper glass foam phase 35. The use of one or more high momentumimpingement burners (whether oxy/fuel or not) in a flow channel isdescribed in assignee's U.S. application Ser. No. 13/493,170, filed Jun.11, 2012(now U.S. Pat. No. 8,707,739).

The glass delivery channel 60 may include, or lead well-fined moltenglass 55 to, one or more glass forming or production systems, forexample bushings when producing glass fiber. The flow channels may berectangular as illustrated in the various figures, or may be a shapesuch as a generally U-shaped or V-shaped channel or trough of refractorymaterial supported by a metallic superstructure.

The flow rate of the molten glass through the first and second flowchannels and transition section there between will depend on manyfactors, including the geometry and size of the SCM and downstreamapparatus, temperature of the melt, viscosity of the melt, and likeparameters, but in general the flow rate of molten glass may range fromabout 0.5 lb./min to about 5000 lbs./min or more (about 0.23 kg/min toabout 2300 kg/min or more), or from about 10 lbs./min to about 500lbs./min (from about 4.5 kg/min to about 227 kg/min), or from about 100lbs./min to 300 lbs./min (from about 45 kg/min to about 136 kg/min).

Certain embodiments may use low momentum burners for heat and/or foamde-stabilization in flow channels 30 and/or 50, and/or transitionsection 40. Low momentum burners useful in systems and methods of thisdisclosure may include some of the features of those disclosed inassignee's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/268,130, filed Oct. 7,2011(now U.S. Pat. No. 9,021,838). For low momentum burners usingnatural gas as fuel, the burners may have a fuel firing rate rangingfrom about 0.4 to about 40 scfh (from about 11 L/hr. to about 1,120L/hr.); an oxygen firing rate ranging from about 0.6 to about 100 scfh(from about 17 L/hr. to about 2,840 L/hr.); a combustion ratio rangingfrom about 1.5 to about 2.5; nozzle velocity ratio (ratio of velocity offuel to oxygen at the fuel nozzle tip) ranging from about 0.5 to about2.5; a fuel velocity ranging from about 6 ft./second to about 40ft./second (about 2 meters/second to about 12 meters/second) and anoxidant velocity ranging from about 6 ft./second to about 40 ft./second(about 2 meters/second to about 12 meters/second).

SCMs may be fed a variety of feed materials. In SCMs processing glassbatch, the initial raw material may include any material suitable forforming molten glass such as, for example, limestone, glass, sand, sodaash, feldspar and mixtures thereof. A glass composition for producingglass fibers known as “E-glass” typically includes 52-56% SiO₂, 12-16%Al₂O₃, 0-0.8% Fe₂O₃, 16-25% CaO, 0-6% MgO, 0-10% B₂O₃, 0-2% Na₂O+K₂O,0-1.5% TiO₂ and 0-1% F₂. Other glass compositions may be used, such asthose described in assignee's published U.S. applications 20070220922and 20080276652. The initial raw material to provide these glasscompositions can be calculated in known manner from the desiredconcentrations of glass components, molar masses of glass components,chemical formulas of batch components, and the molar masses of the batchcomponents. Typical E-glass batches include those reproduced in Table 1,borrowed from the 2007/0220922 application. Notice that during glassmelting, carbon dioxide (from lime) and water (borax) evaporate. Theinitial raw material can be provided in any form such as, for example,relatively small particles.

TABLE 1 Typical E-glass batches E K Ca I Quartz L A B C D Silicate & F GH Ca J and Ca Limestone Quick- Ca Volcanic Volcanic Quartz- Quartz-Limestone Silicate Quartz- Clay Silicate/ Raw material (Baseline) limeSilicate Glass Glass free #1 free #2 Slag Slag free #3 Free FeldsparQuartz (flint) 31.3%  35.9%  15.2%  22.6% 8.5% 0% 0% 22.3%   5.7%  0% 0%19.9%   Kaolin Clay 28.1%  32.3%  32.0%  23.0% 28.2%  26.4%   0% 22.7%  26.0%  26.0%  0% 0% BD Lime 3.4% 4.3% 3.9%  3.3% 3.8% 3.7%  4.3%  2.8% 3.1% 3.1% 4.3%  4.4%  Borax 4.7% 5.2% 5.2%   0% 1.5% 0% 0% 0%  0%  0%1.1%  1.1%  Boric Acid 3.2% 3.9% 3.6%  7.3% 6.9% 8.2%  8.6%  7.3%  8.2%8.2% 7.7%  7.8%  Salt Cake 0.2% 0.2% 0.2%  0.2% 0.2% 0.2%  0.2%  0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2%  0.2%  Limestone 29.1%   0%  0% 28.7%  0% 0% 0% 27.9%   0%  0% 0% 0% Quicklime  0% 18.3%   0%   0%  0% 0% 0% 0%  0%  0% 0% 0%Calcium  0%  0% 39.9%    0% 39.1%  39.0%   27.6%   0% 37.9%  37.9% 26.5%   26.6%   Silicate Volcanic  0%  0%  0% 14.9% 11.8%  17.0%   4.2% 14.7%   16.8%  16.8%  0% 0% Glass Diatomaceous 5.5%  17.4%   0%  0% 5.7%20.0%   0% Earth (DE) Plagioclase 0% 38.3%   0%  0%  0% 40.1%   40.1%  Feldspar Slag 0% 0% 2.0%  2.0% 2.0% 0% 0% Total 100%  100%  100%   100%100%  100%  100%  100%  100%  100%  100%  100%  Volume of 1668 0 0 16470 0 0 1624 0 0 0 0 CO₂@ 1400 C.

SCMs may also be fed by one or more roll stands, which in turn supportsone or more rolls of glass mat, as described in assignee's U.S.application Ser. No. 12/888,970, filed Sep. 23, 2010(now U.S. Pat. No.8,650,914), incorporated herein by reference. In certain embodimentspowered nip rolls may include cutting knives or other cutting componentsto cut or chop the mat (or roving, in those embodiments processingroving) into smaller length pieces prior to entering the SCM. Alsoprovided in certain embodiments may be a glass batch feeder. Glass batchfeeders are well-known in this art and require no further explanation.

Flow channels, transition sections and SCMs may include refractoryfluid-cooled panels. Liquid-cooled panels may be used, having one ormore conduits or tubing therein, supplied with liquid through oneconduit, with another conduit discharging warmed liquid, routing heattransferred from inside the melter to the liquid away from the melter.Liquid-cooled panels may also include a thin refractory liner, whichminimizes heat losses from the melter, but allows formation of a thinfrozen glass shell to form on the surfaces and prevent any refractorywear and associated glass contamination. Other useful cooled panelsinclude air-cooled panels, comprising a conduit that has a first, smalldiameter section, and a large diameter section. Warmed air transversesthe conduits such that the conduit having the larger diameteraccommodates expansion of the air as it is warmed. Air-cooled panels aredescribed more fully in U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,197. In certain embodiments,the refractory fluid cooled-panels may be cooled by a heat transferfluid selected from the group consisting of gaseous, liquid, orcombinations of gaseous and liquid compositions that functions or iscapable of being modified to function as a heat transfer fluid. Gaseousheat transfer fluids may be selected from air, including ambient air andtreated air (for air treated to remove moisture), inert inorganic gases,such as nitrogen, argon, and helium, inert organic gases such asfluoro-, chloro- and chlorofluorocarbons, including perfluorinatedversions, such as tetrafluoromethane, and hexafluoroethane, andtetrafluoroethylene, and the like, and mixtures of inert gases withsmall portions of non-inert gases, such as hydrogen. Heat transferliquids may be selected from inert liquids that may be organic,inorganic, or some combination thereof, for example, salt solutions,glycol solutions, oils and the like. Other possible heat transfer fluidsinclude steam (if cooler than the item to be cooled), carbon dioxide, ormixtures thereof with nitrogen. Heat transfer fluids may be compositionscomprising both gas and liquid phases, such as the higherchlorofluorocarbons.

Certain embodiments may comprise a method control scheme for one or moreflow channels, transition section, and/or SCM. For example, as explainedin the '970 application, a master method controller may be configured toprovide any number of control logics, including feedback control,feed-forward control, cascade control, and the like. The disclosure isnot limited to a single master method controller, as any combination ofcontrollers could be used. The term “control”, used as a transitiveverb, means to verify or regulate by comparing with a standard ordesired value. Control may be closed loop, feedback, feed-forward,cascade, model predictive, adaptive, heuristic and combinations thereof.The term “controller” means a device at least capable of accepting inputfrom sensors and meters in real time or near-real time, and sendingcommands directly to one or more control elements, and/or to localdevices associated with control elements able to accept commands. Acontroller may also be capable of accepting input from human operators;accessing databases, such as relational databases; sending data to andaccessing data in databases, data warehouses or data marts; and sendinginformation to and accepting input from a display device readable by ahuman. A controller may also interface with or have integrated therewithone or more software application modules, and may supervise interactionbetween databases and one or more software application modules. Thecontroller may utilize Model Predictive Control (MPC) or other advancedmultivariable control methods used in multiple input/multiple output(MIMO) systems. As mentioned previously, the methods of assignee'sapplication Ser. No. 13/268,065, filed Oct. 7, 2011(now U.S. Pat. No.8,973,400), using the vibrations and oscillations of the SCM itself, mayprove useful predictive control inputs.

Glass-contact refractory lining for the first flow channel (and otherequipment if desired) may be 3 inches, 4 inches, 5 inches or more (8 cm,10 cm, or 13 cm or more) in thickness, however, greater thickness mayentail more expense without resultant greater benefit. The refractorylining may be one or more layers. Glass-contact refractory used in flowchannels described herein may be fused cast materials based on AZS(alumina-zirconia-silica), α/β alumina, zirconium oxide, chromium oxide,chrome corundum, so-called “dense chrome”, and the like. One “densechrome” material is available from Saint Gobain under the trade nameSEFPRO, such as C1215 and C1221. Other useable “dense chrome” materialsare available from the North American Refractories Co., Cleveland, Ohio(U.S.A.) under the trade designations SERV 50 and SERV 95. Othersuitable materials for components that require resistance to hightemperatures are fused zirconia (ZrO₂), fused cast AZS(alumina-zirconia-silica), rebonded AZS, or fused cast alumina (Al₂O₃).The choice of a particular material is dictated among other parametersby the geometry of the flow channel or other equipment and the type ofglass being produced.

To ascertain the local and bulk distribution (size and/or location) ofbubbles within the molten glass, and therefore the local and bulk glassdensity and/or glass foam density, methods and systems as described inassignee's co-pending application Ser. No. 13/752672, filed Jan. 29,2013 may be employed, comprising an electromagnetic (EM) sensorcomprising one or more EM sources and one or more EM detectors. When theterms “EM sensor” and “sensor” are used, they will be understood to meana device having at least one EM source and at least one EM detector. Incertain embodiments the EM source may be referred to as a nuclearsource. The electromagnetism may be referred to as radiation, and may bein wave, particle and wave/particle formats. The EM source or sourcesand EM detector or detectors may provide feedback on the densitygradient of the molten glass in a vessel. Based on the path the EM wavemust travel, the glass density gradient within the path, the amount ofradiation detected by the EM detector is a function of both the glasslevel as well as the range of densities of the molten foamed glass inthe path of the radiation. If both the EM source and the EM detector arestationary, then measuring the glass level can provide an indicationregarding how much of a change in detection could be due to a change ineffective glass level, and how much is due to a change in glass density.Cobalt-60 and caesium-137 are the most suitable gamma radiation sourcesfor radiation processing because of the relatively high energy of theirgamma rays and fairly long half-life (5.27 years for cobalt-60 and 30.1years for caesium-137). If used, the EM source may be sizedappropriately depending upon the expected attenuation between the EMsource and the EM detector due to distance, vessel wall thickness,vessel wall density, width of the molten foamed glass pool or streambeing analyzed, molten foamed glass density, and EM detector size beingutilized. Provided this information, a vendor supplying the EM sourceand EM detector should be able to size the EM source appropriatelywithout undue experimentation.

Those having ordinary skill in this art will appreciate that there aremany possible variations of the systems and methods described herein,and will be able to devise alternatives and improvements to thosedescribed herein that are nevertheless considered to be within theclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a submerged combustionmelter (SCM) configured to form a turbulent molten mass of foamed glassby melting glass-forming materials therein, the SCM comprising a roof, afloor, a sidewall structure connecting the roof and floor, and a foamedglass outlet in the floor and/or the sidewall structure; a first flowchannel defining a fining chamber fluidly connected to and downstream ofthe SCM, the first flow channel comprising at least a floor and asidewall structure, the first flow channel comprising glass-contactrefractory at least lining the floor and at least a portion of the firstflow channel sidewall structure to a height sufficient to accommodateexpansion of the molten mass of foamed glass as fining occurs duringtransit of the molten mass of foamed glass through the fining chamber,the fining separating the molten mass of foamed glass into an upperphase consisting essentially of glass foam and a lower phase consistingessentially of molten glass as the molten mass of foamed glass flowstoward an end of the first flow channel distal from the SCM; atransition section defining a passage fluidly connected to the distalend of the first flow channel, the transition section comprising a floorand a cover, the floor and cover connected by a sidewall structure, andcomprising an inlet end structure and an outlet end structure, the inletend structure comprising at least one molten glass inlet aperture andthe outlet end structure comprising at least one molten glass outletaperture, wherein all of the inlet apertures are positioned lower than aphase boundary between the upper and lower phases in the first flowchannel; wherein the floor of the transition section comprises at leastone controllable aperture for flowing at least some of the molten glassby gravity therethrough upon a planned or unplanned condition.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein the passage comprises a source of heat and/ora heat sink for adjusting temperature of the molten glass as it passesthrough the passage.
 3. The system of claim 1 comprising a second flowchannel having at least a floor and a sidewall structure, the secondflow channel defining a temperature homogenizing chamber, the secondflow channel fluidly connected to the outlet end structure of thetransition section for forming a temperature homogenized, well-finedmolten glass by routing the phase consisting essentially of molten glassthrough the at least one outlet aperture of the outlet end structure ofthe transition section and into the temperature homogenizing chamber. 4.The system of claim 3 comprising one or more glass forming stationsfluidly connected to a distal end of the second flow channel.
 5. Thesystem of claim 4 wherein the glass forming stations are selected fromthe group consisting of fiber forming spinnerets, fiberization stations,and non-glass fiber product forming stations.
 6. The system of claim 4wherein the outlet end structure of the transition section is configuredto allow the molten glass to well up into an inlet end of the secondflow channel.
 7. The system of claim 3 wherein the first flow channelcomprises a roof having a height h₁ above the cover of the transitionsection, and the second flow channel has a roof having a height h₂ abovethe cover of the transition section, wherein h₁>h₂.
 8. The system ofclaim 1 wherein 100 percent of the inlet aperture is lower than thefloor of the first flow channel.
 9. The system of claim 1 comprising atleast one component for heating the molten glass in the transitionsection to maintain the molten glass in the molten state.
 10. The systemof claim 1 comprising at least one component for cooling the moltenglass as it passes through the transition section to a temperature justabove a desired glass product forming temperature.
 11. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the transition section inlet end structure comprises abottom angled at an angle “α” to horizontal, and the outlet endstructure includes a bottom portion angled at an angle “β” tohorizontal, wherein “α” and “β” are the same or different.
 12. A systemcomprising: a submerged combustion melter (SCM) configured to form aturbulent molten mass of foamed glass by melting glass-forming materialstherein, the SCM comprising a roof, a floor, a sidewall structureconnecting the roof and floor, and a foamed glass outlet in the floorand/or the sidewall structure; a first flow channel defining a finingchamber fluidly connected to and downstream of the SCM, the first flowchannel comprising at least a floor, a sidewall structure, and a roofthat slants upward in the flow direction at an angle “γ” to horizontal,the first flow channel comprising glass-contact refractory at leastlining the floor and at least a portion of the first flow channelsidewall structure to a height sufficient to accommodate expansion ofthe molten mass of foamed glass as fining occurs during transit of themolten mass of foamed glass through the fining chamber, the finingseparating the molten mass of foamed glass into an upper phaseconsisting essentially of glass foam and a lower phase consistingessentially of molten glass as the molten mass of foamed glass flowstoward an end of the first flow channel distal from the SCM; and atransition section defining a passage fluidly connected to the distalend of the first flow channel, the transition section comprising a floorand a cover, the floor and cover connected by a sidewall structure, andcomprising an inlet end structure and an outlet end structure, the inletend structure comprising at least one molten glass inlet aperture andthe outlet end structure comprising at least one molten glass outletaperture, wherein all of the inlet apertures are positioned lower than aphase boundary between the upper and lower phases in the first flowchannel.
 13. A system comprising: a submerged combustion melter (SCM)configured to form a turbulent molten mass of foamed glass by meltingglass-forming materials therein, the SCM comprising a roof, a floor, asidewall structure connecting the roof and floor, and a foamed glassoutlet in the floor and/or the sidewall structure; a first flow channeldefining a fining chamber fluidly connected to and downstream of theSCM, the first flow channel comprising at least a floor and a sidewallstructure, the first flow channel comprising glass-contact refractory atleast lining the floor and at least a portion of the first flow channelsidewall structure to a height sufficient to accommodate expansion ofthe molten mass of foamed glass as fining occurs during transit of themolten mass of foamed glass through the fining chamber, the finingseparating the molten mass of foamed glass into an upper phaseconsisting essentially of glass foam and a lower phase consistingessentially of molten glass as the molten mass of foamed glass flowstoward an end of the first flow channel distal from the SCM; and atransition section defining a passage fluidly connected to the distalend of the first flow channel, the transition section comprising a floorand a cover, the floor and cover connected by a sidewall structure, andcomprising an inlet end structure and an outlet end structure, the inletend structure comprising at least one molten glass inlet aperture andthe outlet end structure comprising at least one molten glass outletaperture, wherein all of the inlet apertures are positioned lower than aphase boundary between the upper and lower phases in the first flowchannel wherein the transition section cover slants upward in the flowdirection at an angle “θ” to horizontal.
 14. A system comprising: asubmerged combustion melter (SCM) configured to form a turbulent moltenmass of foamed glass by melting glass-forming materials therein, the SCMcomprising a roof, a floor, a sidewall structure connecting the roof andfloor, and a foamed glass outlet in the floor and/or the sidewallstructure; a first flow channel defining a fining chamber fluidlyconnected to and downstream of the SCM, the first flow channelcomprising at least a floor and a sidewall structure, the first flowchannel comprising glass-contact refractory at least lining the floorand at least a portion of the first flow channel sidewall structure to aheight sufficient to accommodate expansion of the molten mass of foamedglass as fining occurs during transit of the molten mass of foamed glassthrough the fining chamber, the fining separating the molten mass offoamed glass into an upper phase consisting essentially of glass foamand a lower phase consisting essentially of molten glass as the moltenmass of foamed glass flows toward an end of the first flow channeldistal from the SCM; a transition section defining a passage fluidlyconnected to the distal end of the first flow channel, the transitionsection comprising a floor and a cover, the floor and cover connected bya sidewall structure, and comprising an inlet end wall and an outlet endwall, the inlet end wall comprising at least one molten glass inletaperture and the outlet end wall comprising at least one molten glassoutlet aperture, wherein 100 percent of the inlet aperture is lower thanthe floor of the first flow channel; and a second flow channel fluidlyconnected to the outlet end wall of the transition section and defininga temperature homogenizing chamber for forming a temperaturehomogenized, well-fined molten glass using the phase consistingessentially of molten glass; wherein the floor of the transition sectioncomprises at least one controllable aperture for flowing at least someof the molten glass by gravity therethrough upon a planned or unplannedcondition.
 15. The system of claim 14 wherein the passage comprises asource of heat and/or a heat sink for adjusting temperature of themolten glass as it passes through the passage.
 16. The system of claim14 comprising one or more glass forming stations fluidly connected to adistal end of the second flow channel.
 17. The system of claim 16comprising wherein the glass forming stations are selected from thegroup consisting of fiber forming bushings, fiberization stations, andnon-glass fiber product forming stations.
 18. The system of claim 14wherein the outlet end wall of the transition section is configured toallow the molten glass to well up into an inlet end of the second flowchannel.
 19. The system of claim 14 comprising at least one componentfor heating the molten glass in the transition section to maintain themolten glass in the molten state.
 20. The system of claim 14 comprisingat least one component for cooling the molten glass as it passes throughthe transition section to a temperature just above a desired glassproduct forming temperature.
 21. The system of claim 14 wherein thefirst flow channel comprises a roof having a height h₁ above the coverof the transition section, and the second flow channel has a roof havinga height h₂ above the cover of the transition section, wherein h₁>h₂.22. The system of claim 14 wherein the transition section inlet endstructure comprises a bottom angled at an angle “α” to horizontal, andthe outlet end structure includes a bottom portion angled at an angle“β” to horizontal, wherein “α” and “β” are the same or different.
 23. Asystem comprising: a submerged combustion melter (SCM) configured toform a turbulent molten mass of foamed glass by melting glass-formingmaterials therein, the SCM comprising a roof, a floor, a sidewallstructure connecting the roof and floor, and a foamed glass outlet inthe floor and/or the sidewall structure; a first flow channel defining afining chamber fluidly connected to and downstream of the SCM, the firstflow channel comprising at least a floor and a sidewall structure, thefirst flow channel comprising glass-contact refractory at least liningthe floor and at least a portion of the first flow channel sidewallstructure to a height sufficient to accommodate expansion of the moltenmass of foamed glass as fining occurs during transit of the molten massof foamed glass through the fining chamber, the fining separating themolten mass of foamed glass into an upper phase consisting essentiallyof glass foam and a lower phase consisting essentially of molten glassas the molten mass of foamed glass flows toward an end of the first flowchannel distal from the SCM; a transition section defining a passagefluidly connected to the distal end of the first flow channel, thetransition section comprising a floor and a cover, the floor and coverconnected by a sidewall structure, and comprising an inlet end wall andan outlet end wall, the inlet end wall comprising at least one moltenglass inlet aperture and the outlet end wall comprising at least onemolten glass outlet aperture, wherein 100 percent of the inlet apertureis lower than the floor of the first flow channel; and a second flowchannel fluidly connected to the outlet end wall of the transitionsection and defining a temperature homogenizing chamber for forming atemperature homogenized, well-fined molten glass using the phaseconsisting essentially of molten glass wherein the first flow channelcomprises a roof that slants upward in the flow direction at an angle“γ” to horizontal.
 24. A system comprising: a submerged combustionmelter (SCM) configured to form a turbulent molten mass of foamed glassby melting glass-forming materials therein, the SCM comprising a roof, afloor, a sidewall structure connecting the roof and floor, and a foamedglass outlet in the floor and/or the sidewall structure; a first flowchannel defining a fining chamber fluidly connected to and downstream ofthe SCM, the first flow channel comprising at least a floor and asidewall structure, the first flow channel comprising glass-contactrefractory at least lining the floor and at least a portion of the firstflow channel sidewall structure to a height sufficient to accommodateexpansion of the molten mass of foamed glass as fining occurs duringtransit of the molten mass of foamed glass through the fining chamber,the fining separating the molten mass of foamed glass into an upperphase consisting essentially of glass foam and a lower phase consistingessentially of molten glass as the molten mass of foamed glass flowstoward an end of the first flow channel distal from the SCM; atransition section defining a passage fluidly connected to the distalend of the first flow channel, the transition section comprising a floorand a cover, the floor and cover connected by a sidewall structure, andcomprising an inlet end wall and an outlet end wall, the inlet end wallcomprising at least one molten glass inlet aperture and the outlet endwall comprising at least one molten glass outlet aperture, wherein 100percent of the inlet aperture is lower than the floor of the first flowchannel; and a second flow channel fluidly connected to the outlet endwall of the transition section and defining a temperature homogenizingchamber for forming a temperature homogenized, well-fined molten glassusing the phase consisting essentially of molten glass wherein thetransition section cover slants upward in the flow direction at an angle“θ” to horizontal.